


Of A Feather

by SoftButchCassidy



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, enemies to lovers: speedrun edition, kinda au in my au where the house of light and iron lords are together lol, sfw version!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:21:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21926623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoftButchCassidy/pseuds/SoftButchCassidy
Summary: Saint-14 hasn't spent his life before the Forest fighting the Fallen only for them to team up with the new generations of Iron Lords. They're monsters-- aren't they?
Relationships: Saint-14/Mithrax
Comments: 1
Kudos: 25





	Of A Feather

**Author's Note:**

> and ya the title is a play on "birds of a feather"  
> safe for work edition!

“Kell of WHAT?”

Saladin sighed. “For the last time,” he growled, “Light, Saint. The House of Light. They’re allies. I know that as a whole, the Fallen have committed heinous atrocities--”

“To put it lightly!”

“--But it’s time that we move past it. There are greater threats.” Saladin’s mouth flattened into a line. “Times have changed since your death. We are facing dangers far stronger than an aggressive Kell. The very thing that struck down the Traveler is upon us, and we can’t face it alone.”

Saint glared at him, optics narrowed.

The Hero crossed her arms, both pairs. “Saint,” she said. “You don’t have to like it. But you have to accept it. We can’t afford to make more enemies.”

“You’ve made more than friends with them,” Saint grumbled.

She growled, perfectly mimicking the creatures. “Leave my wife and kid out of this,” she snapped. “I don’t give a damn what you think or what decaying old beliefs you have. Get over it. Our war with the Eliksni is all but over, and we’re all better off together.” Aurora sighed and looked in the direction of the City. “Sky knows we can use every bit of help against what’s out there.”

Saint eyed the Kell. It stood almost awkwardly beside Aurora and Saladin, dwarfing both of them with its ten foot height. Its armor matched Aurora’s, gold and white, with a cloak of brilliant red. Its beady blue eyes gazed evenly back at him.

Aurora’s Ghost, similarly Fallen-gifted with a shell to mirror a Servitor, appeared beside her in a wisp. “Mikris is calling,” she said. “She needs help with something for a moment.”

Aurora softened at the mention. She turned a glare on Saint. “Behave,” she threatened. “I won’t hesitate to break time again if you so much as lay a finger on any member of my House.”

With that, she turned on her heel and stalked across the snow.

Saladin sighed and rubbed his face. “I’ve got to… I don’t know. Paperwork, or just… feed the wolves, or… drink myself into a stupor,” he grumbled. “Don’t do anything stupid, Saint.”

Saint stood stiff as Saladin sulked away for the temple. 

He looked at the Kell again. 

The Kell shifted its weight. It clicked its mandibles. 

Saint didn’t move.

It made an uncertain warbling sound and glanced aside for a moment, then back to him. “Velask, dih-dahn,” it rumbled.

Saint narrowed his optics.

It mumbled something to itself before speaking again. “Titan. Warmest and humble greetings. You do not like my kind. I understand.”

Saint straightened in shock. “What?”

It cocked its head at him. “We have done… a lot of wrong. Much blood. Wounds too big to heal between our people easy.” It set a clawed hand at its chest. “But I fight for the Great Machine. For Traveler. For Light. Humans are worthy of Light. Fallen… may be again. Together.”

“You speak… you…”

“Still learning,” it admitted. “God-Slayer Light-Bringer Aurora is teaching me, when we have time. This was… her idea.” It gestured to Felwinter Peak, to the Iron Lords and Fallen milling about. “I hear word of you. Kell-Breaker Saint-14, lost to Time-Walkers. A legend among us, too. To some, a demon. To others…”

It hesitated, and lowered its voice. “To others, a hero. Your killing of Devil Kell, ending his cruel reign… wrought chaos on the Devils, but brought hope to Dregs. The mighty and unjust were not immortal. To some, you are a… a… you are hope of peace, of ending that selfish rule.”

Saint stared at it with his optics wide now, taken completely by shock.

It lowered its head, and then knelt into an elegant bow. “My honor to meet you, Kell-Breaker,” it rumbled. “And to fight at your side.” It straightened and glanced aside, tapping a hand to its comm. “Being called. Apologies. Will… see you sometime.”

With that, the Kell turned and strode off. 

Saint watched it go and realized it had left its back completely exposed.

He could have killed it, and it knew that, and still it trusted him not to.

Damn it.

  
  


It was called Mithrax. 

And Saint couldn’t understand why he hated it so much. Every sight of the Kell filled him with a burning that he couldn’t deal with. 

He never saw Mithrax do a thing to harm anyone. In fact, the Kell seemed… unbelievably likable. It would sit with children and build snowmen with them, laugh its deep rumbling laugh, let them clamber on its armor. It would help carry supplies, leaping with ease to ledges that only Guardians could reach. 

And the Guardians loved it. They would walk beside it, conversing like old friends. Many wore the same armor, that mix of golden Fallen armor and Iron Lord armor. The Kell listened with rapt attention, gave advice and insights, chittered at jokes and tales. It didn’t even seem to be humoring anyone; every interaction seemed so genuine.

He couldn’t stand it. 

So when Saladin rushed to him with an urgent call for help, Saint was quick to agree. An easy enough mission, surely: a couple of Corsairs were trapped with an injured Guardian in the Reef.

But when Saint boarded the ship and saw the Kell already strapping itself in, he stopped dead.

Mithrax looked up with a questioning chirp. “Kell-Breaker?” it queried. “All well?”

Saint scowled and sat as far from Mithrax as he could. 

Mithrax let out a sigh as the doors closed and the ship hummed to life. When it lifted, Mithrax spoke. “You do not like me.”

“I don’t. I do not trust a single one of you.”

“No. Me.”

Saint gave it a surly glare.

Mithrax met his gaze evenly, not a hint of animosity in any of its eyes. “You do not like _me._ You avoid me. Have I… do something wrong?” It angled its head, looking… concerned. “I apologize. I mean no bad to you, Kell-Breaker. Only peace--”

“Shove it,” Saint grumbled.

Mithrax’s jaw clacked shut. It stared wide-eyed at him for a moment before shrinking into itself a little. It turned away.

He almost felt… guilty.

Saint pushed it down and sat silent as a stone throughout the flight.

  
  


“Guardian!” Saint bellowed over the comms and the roaring of the Hive. “What is your status?”

“Not doin’ so hot, Saint,” came the rasping response. “Ghost’s offline. She ain’t dead… just drained… she’s gonna be… so mad she ain’t got to meet you…”

“Hold position,” Saint ordered as he pulled the trigger of his Perfect Paradox in the face of a Knight. “ETA five minutes.”

“They might not have five minutes, sir,” answered another voice, tense and feminine. “They’re still bleeding.”

Saint cursed. 

“How bad is injury?” Mithrax rumbled.

To his surprise, the Corsair didn’t seem startled by the Fallen speaking. “A Knight’s Shredder bolt to the abdomen. It’s… not great.”

Mithrax slashed with its swords, cutting through waves of Thrall. “We be there faster.”

“With this many Hive?” Saint said in disbelief. 

“Guardian? Guardian! Shit-- they’re unconscious!” 

Mithrax snarled and ripped its blades from the crumbling husk of a Knight. “We move fast.” It dropped low to the ground to dodge a swing and lashed out with a secondary. It flung the Acolyte into another one and impaled them both. “Guardian not awake, burn injury closed.”

“What?” the Corsair sounded incredulous. 

“I use to heal wounds,” Mithrax said. “Shown by Guardian. Will save their life.”

Saint growled in annoyance. “Cauterize the wound,” he explained. “What do you mean, shown by a Guardian?” That was said just to the Kell.

Mithrax glanced toward him. Its chest heaved with its labored breathing from the effort of fighting. “Injured,” it said simply. “Fighting Hive. God-Slayer Hero showed me… used Light.” It touched its hip, and when Saint narrowed his optics at it, he could just barely see the keratin gnarled and scarred beneath its belt. “She save me.”

“Foolish,” Saint mumbled.

Mithrax grunted and its swords clashed heavily with a Knight’s. “Gah--get!”

Saint reacted on instinct, moving in close and drawing back his fist. Void swirled around his fingers and he slammed his fist into the Knight’s chest. It crumbled into ashes as Mithrax staggered back.

“Are you--” Saint started before freezing.

Mithrax rubbed its shoulder, wincing. “Am… okay.” It shook its head as if shaking off a daze. “Thank you.”

Saint grunted in answer and moved on. 

They forged ahead, closer to the signal.

A few Corsairs stood outside, ragged and exhausted, shooting down Hive. “Guardian!” one yelled. She paused and gasped. “Mithrax?!”

Mithrax made a sound nearly like a deep purr, quick and pleased. “Maya,” it greeted cheerfully. 

“Thank the Light,” Maya said in relief.

Saint hurried ahead to help keep the Hive away. He pinged their air support. “Guardian down,” he reported. “Location secured.”

“Not quite,” Mithrax said dryly.

“Secured enough for evac,” Saint corrected.

“En route, sirs,” the pilot said. “Transmat prepped. We’ll get the Corsairs out, too.”

“Not enough room for us,” Mithrax pointed out.

“Will be fine,” Saint said. “We can hold until they drop off the Corsairs.”

Mithrax shrugged and kicked away a Thrall grabbing its cloak. “They are more important.”

The ship flew in, casting a shadow over the Hive. After a moment, there was a fizz of transmat from the cave behind them.

“Good luck, you two,” Maya said gravely before she was transmatted on board as well.

“Should be back in five minutes, tops!” the pilot said as she pulled away. “Stay safe!”

Saint frowned as he shot down another couple of Acolytes.

They fought nearly silently until a scream rattled Saint’s thoughts.

“Wizard,” Mithrax snarled.

“Shit,” Saint hissed.

The Wizard rose with magic glowing in her claws. Saint readied his shotgun. 

Mithrax suddenly barked a sound of alarm and charged into Saint.

Saint shouted in surprise and fury as he was bowled over onto the ground. Bitter betrayal filled his throat.

As he thrashed, words of hatred about to burst from his vocal modulator, something lukewarm and red-violet spattered onto his armor.

Saint’s optics widened at the blood that trickled down Mithrax’s arm. 

Mithrax shuddered and drew back. 

The arm didn’t follow. Saint looked horrified at the limb falling lifeless and bloody to the ground, bone splintered and raw from a Knight’s cleaving blade.

Mithrax grasped at the stump of its arm with a hiss, trying to stem the blood. It swayed where it sat.

Saint staggered upright and thrust out his hands. Void burst into life around them, a dome of Light. Hive retreated, blinded and howling.

“Idiot,” Saint snapped. “What the hell did you--”

“Saw Knight,” Mithrax rasped. “About to kill you.”

“I can come back!” Saint strained against the Dark magic. “I’m a Guardian!”

“Does not matter,” Mithrax said, voice quaking with thinly veiled pain. “Just… just an arm. Will… grow back.”

“Sacrificing yourself for me--” Saint grunted and forced his Light to hold. “Why? You’re-- so stupid!”

Mithrax barked a laugh. “You are strong, Kell-Breaker. Stronger than I. A moment you spend fighting is a thousand of mine.” Mithrax took its-- took his blades. He rose, unsteady. “I fight beside you. Willing to do what you do for Light. Give life… even if I only have one to give.”

Saint gave in. He fell to one knee, arms shaking. “That’s… our job,” he managed. “Not yours.”

“Even still,” Mithrax said. “I give gladly for Light. For yours.”

Saint couldn’t think of an answer.

“Saint, Mithrax!” 

Mithrax looked up in relief. “Ah. Evac.” With that, he crumpled to the ground.

  
  


Saint sat beside the massive Kell as a Warlock and a Captain carefully finished bandaging far more wounds than Mithrax had let on. 

“He’ll be okay,” the Warlock said with a nod. “Mithrax is strong. It’ll take more than a couple Hive to knock him down for long.”

“He got hurt protecting me,” Saint grumbled. “Why would he do that?”

The Captain angled her head. “He respect you,” she said. “See you leader. We honor, Kell-Breaker. He value your Light, your life, more over him own.”

“But I cannot die--” Saint cut himself off at the Warlock’s look. He sighed and slumped forward. “I can. I did.”

“God-Slayer save you,” the Captain murmured. “Mithrax respect her. Would die in her place, too.”

“He’s a fool.”

“He brave. He good. Kind.”

“The same could be said about you, Saint,” the Warlock said as she draped a blanket over Mithrax’s slumbering body. “A brave, good, kind fool. Let him rest.”

The two left him alone with the Kell.

Saint stared at him in silence, chewing over his thoughts.

Maybe…

Maybe he’d been wrong.

  
  


Saint woke up to a deep rumbling sound and cold fingers knit in his.

He sat bolt upright.

Mithrax inhaled sharp and blinked open confused, tired eyes.

“Shit,” Saint exclaimed.

Mithrax blinked owlishly at him. “Saint?”

Saint shook his head, uneasy at the relief he felt. “You’re… okay.”

Mithrax grimaced. “What… ugh.” He growled and covered his face with one hand. “Fucking Hive.”

Saint burst out a surprised laugh at the curse. 

Mithrax kept an eye open on him. “What happen?”

“You collapsed,” Saint explained. “You were hurt more than you let on.”

Mithrax grunted. “Had worse.”

“You nearly died.”

Mithrax was quiet for a moment. He dropped his hand. “You save me.”

Saint couldn’t answer him.

“Saint.”

Mithrax reached out and tapped his helmet. “See?”

Saint took a breath and let his helmet transmat.

Mithrax examined him carefully. “If I had died,” he whispered, “what… would you feel?”

Saint thought for a long moment. “Regret.”

“Why?”

“You nearly died trying to protect me. It was reckless and it was stupid. And… honorable. Admirable. It’s what we do all the time… but you only have one life. And you nearly gave it for me. You aren’t nearly as bad as I had thought. I… was wrong.”

Mithrax squeezed his hand, and that was when Saint realized that their fingers were still entwined. “Is that all?”

Saint frowned. “What? What do you mean?”

Mithrax blinked at him, catlike. His thumb moved slow, rubbing gently over Saint’s hand. “If I had died, you would only feel regret?”

Saint slumped forward. “I… don’t know,” he muttered.

“Kell-Breaker,” Mithrax murmured. “You thought us monsters. We thought of you the same. We both were wrong. We both change.”

“Yes,” Saint agreed.

Mithrax braced his hands and started to push himself up.

Saint took his hand back to put them on the Kell’s shoulders. “Whoa, whoa, stay put,” he said.

Mithrax huffed. “Uncomfortable,” he grumbled.

“You have to rest,” Saint insisted.

Mithrax growled.

Saint glared at him. “Don’t growl at me.”

Mithrax leaned up a little and growled again, deeper, less threatening.

Saint pushed down on him, still minding his injuries, until he was nearly pinning the Kell down.

Mithrax twitched his hands and froze.

Saint frowned in confusion. 

Mithrax went nearly slack underneath him, breathing going shallow and quick. 

“Mithrax?” Saint asked.

Mithrax blinked and his eyes went wide. He flicked his gaze away.

“What’s--”

Oh.

Saint was still pinning him down.

Slowly, hardly daring, Saint moved. He shifted his grip, something more gentle but more firm.

The Kell let out the tiniest whimper.

Saint reeled as the sound went right south.

_Oh._

He caught Mithrax’s eyes.

Mithrax shifted his mandibles. “I, uh,” he stammered out, growl pitched in nervousness.

Saint took a breath and leaned in closer.

Mithrax met him halfway.

He tasted like arc, in a way. Sharp and metallic and earthy. Petrichor and copper. 

Saint had no idea how to kiss a Fallen. 

He didn’t know if they did kiss--

Saint drew back, eyes going wide. He started to step back.

Mithrax’s remaining secondary hand was grasping his tightly. “Wait,” Mithrax said, soft, pleading. “Saint…”

Saint let him draw him back in. “I… I didn’t think… I wasn’t…”

Mithrax’s chest rumbled. “It doesn’t matter,” he murmured. “I don’t care. I’m glad. Do… do it again?”

Saint cupped his jaw and leaned in again.

**Author's Note:**

> stop by my tumblr @lesbianeliksni


End file.
